Home coffee brewing systems have been in use for some time. In recent years however, coffee machines that utilize coffee pods have become very popular. In particular, the use of the K-Cups® brand coffee pods manufactured by Keurig is widespread. And while these types of machines allow high quality coffee to be brewed with little to no mess and without much effort, the environmental consequences of the product are alarming.
For instance, over 21 billion coffee pods are discarded in the United States every year, and unfortunately, most of the pods (95%) are not recyclable. As such, the discarded coffee pods end up in landfills. In fact, according to studies by the National Coffee Association, the vast quantity of discarded coffee pods in 2013 could circle the globe more than ten times.
However, it is interesting to note that the individual components of the typical coffee pod—the plastic shell, paper filter, foil lid and coffee grounds—are recyclable on their own. However, the small quantity of each material and the hybrid construction of each capsule make it too difficult for recycling facilities to dismantle and sort. In addition, many recycling facilities will not accept recyclable materials if they include food products such as coffee grounds.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device that facilitates the easy dismantling of used coffee pods so that their individual components may be recycled or otherwise used for secondary purposes (for example, the coffee grounds may be used as mulch).
In addition, there is a need for a device that may sever or otherwise cut the coffee pod apart in a safe fashion so that there is no risk of harm to the user.